“Former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday (September 22, 2025) for questioning in a money-laundering case linked to an online betting app,” officers mentioned. Uthappa (39) reached the company’s workplace in New Delhi round 11 a.m.
“The ED will question him and record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in a case linked to a platform named 1xBet,” the officers mentioned.
Real cash gaming ban to be formally notified on Oct. 1: Vaishnaw
The federal probe company has questioned former cricketers Suresh Raina and Shikhar Dhawan aside from former Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP and actor Mimi Chakraborty and Bengali actor Ankush Hazra over the previous couple of weeks as a part of this investigation.
Former cricketer Yuvraj Singh and actor Sonu Sood have been summoned for Tuesday and Wednesday (September 23 and 24) respectively by the ED in the identical case.
The probe pertains to the operations of the 1xBet betting app as a part of the ED’s wider probe towards such platforms on allegations of duping quite a few folks and traders value crores of rupees and reportedly evading an enormous quantity of direct and oblique taxes.
According to the Curacao registered firm, 1xBet is a globally recognised bookmaker with 18 years in the betting business. The model’s prospects can place bets on hundreds of sporting occasions, with the corporate’s web site and app obtainable in 70 languages.
Some different sportspersons, film actors, online influencers and celebrities are anticipated to be questioned by the company in the approaching days as a part of this probe.
The ED’s line of investigation, based on the sources, is to know from the celebrities as to how they had been contacted by the mentioned betting firm in search of their endorsement, the nodal individual(s) for contact in India, the mode of cost (money by hawala or banking channel) and place of the cost (in India or overseas) and so on.
The company, whereas recording the statements of the cricketers and actors, is known to be asking them in the event that they knew that online betting and gaming was unlawful in India. It has additionally requested them to furnish a replica of their contracts and all related e mail and paper documentation made by them with 1xBet.
“The agency is also looking at the end use of the money taken by the celebrities to check if any of them can be categorised as the “proceeds of crime” below the PMLA,” as per the sources.
The Union Government lately banned actual cash online gaming in India by bringing a laws.
The ED, throughout a current nationwide assembly of its senior officers in Jammu and Kashmir, has additionally determined to provoke “focused strategies” to analyze monetary crimes arising from this sector linked to alleged unlawful betting and gaming.
According to estimates by market evaluation corporations and probe companies undertaken before the federal government ban, there have been about 22 crore Indian customers in varied such online betting apps out of which half (about 11 crore) had been common customers.
The online betting app market in India was estimated to be value greater than $100 billion which was said to be rising on the price of 30%, based on specialists.
The authorities has advised Parliament that it has issued 1,524 orders from 2022 until June 2025 to dam online betting and playing platforms.
